Before the outbreak of World War II, New York City was a center of extraordinary creative exchange, where artists experimented with modernism and shared ideas in a global context. Illustrated with 123 color and 29 black and white photos and reproductions of art, this book focuses on artists from Latin and Caribbean America in a dynamic cultural and social dialogue with the American avant-garde, in such environments as the Art Students League, the Siqueiros Experimental Workshop, and the New School for Social Research.

"The book is a monumental achievement in its own right.... While it includes well known artists like Alice Neel and Diego Rivera, it also exposes the historic importance of figures like Joaquin Torres-Garcia and Miguel Covarrubias, the latter of whom came to shape the imagery of Harlem. From the only photos of Rivera's destroyed Rockefeller Center mural to photos of David Alfaro Siqueiros teaching students in his Experimental Workshop, this book offers an impressive range of rare treasures."—BeyondChron (San Francisco)